A Smelly Bike Locks Drives Thieves Away By Making Them Vomit

There’s no city that’s safe from bike thieves. A 2014 survey found that half of cyclists will at some point have their bike stolen. So what’s a cyclist to do when even the best U-lock can’t deter a serious thief? A pair of inventors thinks bad smells are the answer, The Guardian reports. The crowdfunded product SkunkLock looks like a regular U-lock, but if someone tries to break it, it releases a smell so vile that the thief is left puking.

According to the company, when the lock is breached, it emits a non-toxic but terrible formula—like pepper spray, its active ingredient is capsaicin, the compound that makes chili peppers spicy—that makes it difficult to see or breathe without vomiting. (SkunkLock swears it’s legal, but it still has to go through some legal vetting before the product can ship.)

Presumably, the puking thief would then flee the scene without the bike. The lock doesn't prevent a good lockpick from making off with your bike and your intact SkunkLock, but it will at least punish opportunists wielding bolt cutters.

It’s not the only useful application of disgusting odors. The vile-smelling spray Liquid ASS is used in military training to expose soldiers and medics to the horrible smells of war.